dragons breath 01 - stalked by flames

by Susan Illene

  “He did,” I agreed. At our ranch, we went out at least once a week to either hunt or do some target practice, depending on the season and how much time we had.

  Earl handed me a Glock he’d put into a holster and a box of 9mm rounds. I fitted the holster into the waistband of my jeans and stuffed the ammo into the pocket of my pullover. Justin and a few other guys at the library had already brought in their own guns, but I liked the idea of having one for myself.

  “Thanks.”

  He rubbed at the leathery skin of his arm. “It ain’t much, but if any human gives you trouble, then you give them trouble right back. We can’t rely on the authorities to protect us anymore. Some of us are settin’ up a watch ‘round here because it’s gonna get worse as supplies start runnin’ low. You come back ‘round if you need anything and give my name if someone else stops you, but don’t bring no one else. Outsiders ain’t gonna be welcome.”

  With the way my group continued to take in stray people we found, I hadn’t considered neighborhoods might start closing ranks. It made sense, though. If the dragons were here to stay long term and the military didn’t take them down, it was going to get a lot rougher. People were already scrambling to hoard what food and supplies they could—myself included.

  “I’ll try to stop by in a week or so and check on you,” I promised. “Stay safe until then.”

  “Same to you, little girl.” Earl drew me into a bone-crushing hug that barely missed my arm wound. “Your step-daddy was always a good friend. You need anything, you come here.”

  I pulled away from him. “I will.”

  He stepped outside with me and we waited a few minutes on the porch, watching and listening, to be certain it was safe. Only once we were sure did I head back out, using the trees for cover as much as possible.

  Chapter 10

  Bailey

  I ran the wet washcloth down my leg, scrubbing away a couple days’ worth of dirt and sweat. One of the glow sticks we’d gathered from scouting around kept the bathroom lit in a green hue. After two weeks of sponge bathing I already missed taking showers, but even this was a luxury. We’d run out of the tap water we’d saved and had to collect rain water in whatever containers we could find. There’d been a storm yesterday or I couldn’t have bathed at all.

  “Hey, are you about done?” Trish asked, coming through the door.

  She carried a flashlight in her hand, making it brighter in the bathroom. We’d been roommates in the dorms long enough that I wasn’t embarrassed by her catching me in my bra and underwear. Hell, these days modesty mattered even less. We had a lot bigger issues to worry about.

  I scrubbed at my feet—the last part of me I hadn’t washed yet.

  “Almost done,” I answered.

  Trish perched herself on top of the counter. I couldn’t speak for the guys’ restrooms, but the ladies had been keeping theirs clean since there were still plenty of supplies in the janitor closets. We needed that small bit of normalcy, especially in a library full of survivors who were beginning to stink up the place. In the part of the basement where we stayed, the musty smell of books was being overpowered.

  “We need medicine and bandages,” Trish said, tucking a loose strand of red hair behind her ear. “We’re just about out of everything I can use to treat people.”

  We’d pilfered all the first aid supplies we could on campus, including the tornado-damaged health center, but other scavengers had been hitting many of the same spots, too. It wouldn’t have been so bad if there weren’t so many people staying in the library. The numbers fluctuated between forty to sixty daily as folks came and went, but nearly everyone who arrived needed some sort of medical attention. As long as they didn’t appear to pose a threat we didn’t turn them away.

  “You should tell your boyfriend. Isn’t it his job to organize teams to get things?” There may have been some bitterness in my tone.

  I hadn’t been allowed on another off-campus scouting trip since the day the tornado struck. He didn’t like that I’d disappeared for hours or that I’d refused to tell him where I’d gone. Miles, my team leader that day, hadn’t been happy either. They were annoyingly overprotective, especially of women.

  Trish’s face scrunched up. “I tried talking to him, but since that last team didn’t come back two days ago he’s been too paranoid to send out another one.”

  That was how we’d lost five people. Some others had just packed up and left during the early hours. I’d overheard a few of them talking and knew they’d decided to take their chances elsewhere. Our food rations were pretty small and we had a ton of rules, resulting in a lot of discontentment.

  “I’ll talk to him.” I wrung out my cloth and dumped the basin of murky water into the sink.

  It wasn’t my thing to get involved in the myriad of disputes going on in the library. I was trying hard to keep a low profile. I’d never been a good team player and preferred to keep a small number of friends. If not for the safety in numbers factor—and my best friend—I might have left like some of the others.

  “Thanks.” She gave me a weak smile.

  I grabbed the fresh set of clothes I had on the counter. My jeans were the last clean pair from the luggage in my truck, though I still had a few shirts and shorts left. We needed more containers to collect water during the next rain if we wanted to wash anything.

  “Where is Justin at now?” I asked.

  “With some guys getting rid of the trash. You missed the big debate on where to dump it.” Trish rolled her eyes.

  I pulled a tank top over my head. “I’d say go put it in the middle of the South Oval and lure a dragon over to burn it.”

  “Very funny.” She snickered. “Good luck finding a volunteer to do that.”

  “It’d be more environmentally friendly than just leaving it out to rot,” I pointed out. Not that pollution was at the top of anyone’s concerns at the moment.

  “They’re dumping it in the rubble left from the tornado so they should be back in a few minutes.” She hopped off the counter and headed for the door.

  I finished lacing my shoes and followed her out.

  “Be nice when you talk to him,” she pleaded, pausing in the corridor. “This is really important. The last thing we need is for people to start getting sick around here with no way to help them.”

  “I’ll try,” I promised.

  Trish might have been planning to be a librarian, but her mother had been a nurse. It seemed she was starting to follow in her mom’s footsteps. Other than a new arrival in our group who’d been a combat medic while she was in the army, we didn’t have anyone with medical training. Trish had been filling in whenever the need arose.

  Seeing Conrad sitting in the coffee shop, I headed over to him.

  “Hey, would you mind going on a trip with me?” I settled into a chair next to him.

  His dark brows furrowed. “Where to?”

  “We need first aid supplies and, well, pretty much anything else we can grab.”

  He gave me a skeptical look. “Justin doesn’t want any more people going out.”

  “I’ll talk to him, but even if he doesn’t agree it’s not like he can stop us.”

  Conrad appeared to mull the idea over. “I’m in. I’m sick of sitting around here, anyway.”

  I caught a glimpse of Justin and Miles coming out of the stairwell. They appeared ragged. Most guys hadn’t shaved and no one had washed their hair. There wasn’t enough water for that.

  “Give me a minute,” I said to Conrad, then headed toward Justin.

  He had a wary look in his eyes as I approached. Since he’d refused to let me out on any of the scouting teams, I’d stopped talking to him except when absolutely necessary. He must have known if I was coming to him now it was because I wanted to ask him for something.

  No, I amended. I wasn’t asking, I was telling.

  “Conrad and I are going out on a supply run in my truck,” I informed him.

  He shook his head. “It isn’t safe
.”

  “Did you see any dragons while you were out just now?” I put a hand on my hip.

  “No, but they’ll be back.” He was standing in front of the stairwell door as if he planned to physically block me from leaving.

  “Then we’ll be careful.”

  “It isn’t just the dragons that are a problem,” he said, pulling me around the corner away from any prying ears. “Other people are out there scavenging. We found the bodies of our missing scout team in the middle of the street. They were shot, not burned.”

  I lowered my voice. “Then I’ll shoot back if it comes to that.”

  “How?”

  I lifted my jacket and showed him the gun I had tucked in my pants. Only Trish and Conrad knew I had it.

  Justin’s face hardened. “Where did you get that?”

  “I’ve got my resources.”

  “We could use more guns for the scout teams,” he stated. There was a gleam in his eyes.

  “No, this is for my protection when I go out,” I said, emphatically.

  He was quiet for a moment. If I’d been anyone other than his girlfriend’s best friend he might have tried taking it from me—“tried” being the operative word. In the end, he gave me a resigned expression.

  “What’s your plan?”

  “Conrad and I will take my truck to the grocery store down the street. It’s only a little over a mile away so it’s not far and shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

  Justin rubbed his face. “You can go in my SUV and I’ll send a couple guys with you.”

  “No.” I jerked my head. “They’ll just take up space we could use for supplies and be that many more people to worry about.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this? Even with a gun it’s going to be dangerous.” There was genuine concern in his voice. Whatever I thought about him, he did care about people and wanted to protect them.

  “It has to be done. We’re running low on everything.”

  His shoulders sagged. “Fine, but be careful and check in with me as soon as you’re back.”

  I nodded. “It’ll take a few hours, but have someone on the lookout to help bring things in when we return.”

  His expression said he wasn’t certain he’d be seeing me again. “We’ll be watching for you.”

  I left to get Conrad.

  ***

  We pulled into the grocery store parking lot. Conrad and I searched for any potential dangers, but there was no one in sight. Other than a few empty cars toward the back and scorch marks in the pavement I didn’t find any signs of recent activity—unless you counted a mangy-looking dog sniffing around the dumpsters at a fast food restaurant across the lot.

  The burns in the cement varied in size—telling the sad story of both living creatures and vehicles being targeted by dragon flames. I avoided driving over the smaller ones. Somehow that felt like I’d be driving over people’s grave.

  I stopped the truck next to the west entrance and shut it off, taking the keys with me. We waited a moment just to be sure no one came running up to us waving a gun or something. When they didn’t, Conrad and I got out and headed for the doors. They’d been broken by previous visitors.

  I pulled my gun out and checked it for the third time that morning before going inside. My ears strained to listen for even the smallest sound. The interior was dark, but with no clouds in the sky the sun was able to shine through, making it a little easier to see. We also had flashlights with us to help.

  The place had been ransacked and heavily looted. A few shelves were knocked over and various grocery items were scattered across the floor, but there was still plenty of stuff to grab. Conrad and I each took a grocery cart and headed toward the side of the store with the pharmacy.

  My cart hit a bump along the way. I’d been busy scanning for anyone who might be hiding around a corner waiting to attack. It wasn’t until I checked the floor in front of the cart that I found what I’d hit. A small shriek escaped my lips.

  “Jesus,” Conrad muttered, coming up beside me.

  I shined my flashlight down. “I don’t think he’s been dead for long.”

  “Nah, I don’t think so, either. He doesn’t smell yet.”

  I tapped the toes of my shoes against the dead man’s leg. It was stiff.

  “Let’s just grab what we need and go,” I said, veering my cart around.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  We didn’t have time to deal with the body, though a part of me did feel guilty about just leaving it there. The pharmacy was at the front of the store in the corner. When we reached it, we found it had been picked through pretty well, but there still a few aspirin bottles, packaged bandages, and other supplies. Conrad went into the back where the prescription meds were located and found some antibiotics. All the painkillers were gone already.

  The produce section turned up a scattering of potatoes, onions, corn, and fruit. We took everything we found—even if it had fallen to the floor—as long as it wasn’t rotting or squashed. After that, we went aisle by aisle, grabbing anything we could find that might be edible or useful.

  We’d just filled up the second cart in the cereal aisle and were headed toward the entrance when a roar came from outside. Conrad and I stopped in our tracks, glancing at each other. Then we crept up to one of the empty checkout lanes to get a semi-safe view through the windows.

  A loud scream tore through the air next, filled with terror.

  I ran my gaze back and forth, but couldn’t find where it came from. Then a man and woman came running across the parking lot into our view. Unwittingly, I took a few steps closer and caught a glimpse of a green dragon flying overhead. He was closing in on them fast.

  I couldn’t say what came over me in that moment, but there was a driving need to go out there and protect them. An instinct I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t until I felt Conrad’s hand close around my arm that I realized I’d almost made it to the doors.

  “You can’t go out there,” he hissed.

  The dragon swooped down with his claws extended.

  “He’s going to kill them. We have to do something.” I jerked from his hold.

  He grabbed me again and wrapped his arms around me this time.

  “Then he’ll just kill you, too.”

  Conrad wasn’t a big guy, but he was strong enough that I couldn’t get free of him easily. I knew he had a point about the danger of going out there. Why I had this overwhelming need to save the people outside, I couldn’t explain.

  What the hell was wrong with my survival instincts? Ever since the dragons showed up I’d had a tough time fighting the urge to go after them—to kill them. Never mind that I didn’t know how to do that.

  Still, I struggled as I watched the dragon come down. He didn’t breathe out fire like I expected and instead grabbed the two people with his massive claws. They struggled and screamed, but couldn’t get loose. In the next moment, they were up in the air with him. We watched in shock as he took them away.

  Conrad let me go. “That was…unexpected.”

  “I don’t get it. Why would he take them alive?”

  A crunch of glass drew our attention to the east entrance of the store.

  “Because Mirrikh enjoys the taste of humans. He hoards them in his lair and eats them when he’s hungry,” Aidan said, walking toward us with a purposeful stride.

  I froze. A part of me had hoped I’d never see the dragon shape-shifter again.

  Chapter 11

  Bailey

  “Aidan,” I said, resisting the urge to step back.

  Why didn’t I get the same driving need to kill him in this form that I did when I saw him as a dragon? Sure, my alarm bells were ringing at the sight of him, but not to the point I lost control of myself. With Aidan appearing mostly human, my feelings were more cautionary like anyone would feel when a dangerous man approached them.

  “Do you know this guy?” Conrad asked, giving me an incredulous look.

  “We met once.”


  Conrad grabbed my arm and yanked on it. “Let’s get out of here. There’s something wrong with this guy’s eyes.”

  “Leave, human, if you wish to remain alive.” Aidan was now only five feet away from us. His right fist was clenched as if he was about to use it.

  I pulled out of Conrad’s grasp. “Go put the groceries in the truck. I’ll meet you out there in a few minutes.”

  “No way.” He shook his head. “This guy looks crazy. I’m not leaving you here so you can end up like that dead guy in the back.”

  I let out an exasperated breath. “I’ll be fine. Just go!”

  Conrad didn’t move.

  “You test my patience, human,” Aidan growled.

  “Don’t mess with me.” Conrad lifted his arms and one leg like he was going to kick out. “I know karate.”

  Sometimes I had to wonder if he had a death wish. Aidan lunged forward and took Conrad by the throat, lifting him into the air. The younger man clawed at the shape-shifter’s hands, but couldn’t get free. An acrid scent reached my nose as if something was burning.

  “Let him go, Aidan,” I demanded, pulling on his arm. “You’re hurting him.”

  He turned his yellow-eyed gaze on me. “This human is disrespectful and weak. You have no need of him.”

  I pulled my pistol and aimed it at his head. This was the first time I’d ever pointed a weapon at a person…or at least someone that looked like a person. But I couldn’t stand by and let him hurt Conrad.

  I gave him a cold look. “I said let him go.”

  “Try it,” he encouraged, flashing teeth with pronounced fangs.

  I swallowed. It was easy to pull a gun, but harder to pull the trigger. Conrad made choking sounds and the stench grew worse. My nose twitched. It smelled a lot like skin burning and there appeared to be steam coming from Conrad’s neck. Did the dragon shape-shifter’s touch burn flesh?

  “Let. Him. Go.”

  Aidan’s eyes turned cold. “No.”

  My hand shook, but the barrel wasn’t more than three feet from his head. Even this nervous I couldn’t miss. I sighted on his nose and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck his forehead and jerked his head back before zinging away. Glass from a light fixture over a cash register shattered. When Aidan looked down on me again, there was nothing but a small gash on his head.